Stopping Seroquel Losing Weight

As is the case for most psychoactive medications, using them for several months or longer may lead to physical dependence. Stopping Seroquel may evoke what is called Seroquel discontinuation syndrome If the decision to come off Seroquel is made, stopping should rarely to never be done abruptly. Always seek medical oversight and guidance for safety.

Even when slowing the tapering off of a drug, there can still be some significant Seroquel withdrawals, which may be more severe if the prescription was for a very long time, such as years. Our Seroquel tapering page goes into the nuances of tapering strategies based upon the duration of use. A list of just some of the reported Seroquel withdrawal symptoms includes the following.

* Due to the high call volumes of families with whom we have spoken over the years, we have known of people who rapidly stopped antipsychotics including Seroquel outside of our center and unsupported, and have subsequently engaged in risky behavior leading to serious injury and even death. While these people may have not been overtly suicidal during the tragic event, the action that occurred during the rebound psychosis from rapid withdrawal would have been considered a suicide attempt or completion if they were not considered psychotic and therefore unaware of the consequences. We are very clear that abrupt Seroquel withdrawal can have a rebound psychosis when done improperly and that ample caution and patience to withdrawal slowly is warranted.

How Long Would It Take To Lose Weight After A Seroquel?

Everyone has a different set of withdrawal symptomatology, and in that way, there is no one size fits all description of “this is what to expect from a Seroquel withdrawal.” However, the most consistent symptoms we have seen at Alternative to Meds Center are Seroquel withdrawal rebound psychosis, rebound mania, insomnia, and loss of appetite. Suddenly not sleeping, not eating, and acting manic when enduring Seroquel withdrawal is a sure sign that things are most likely going too fast and that the rate of withdrawal needs to be slowed down.

It takes a skilled professional to help navigate Seroquel withdrawal smoothly. Antipsychotic medications, even if warranted at the time of crisis, may not necessitate being subject to debilitating side effects for a lifetime. According to some long-term research, many schizophrenic patients do better long-term without antipsychotics.6

Alternative to Meds has been the expert on antipsychotic withdrawal for over 15 years. We have published evidence regarding our success. Often we find that patients were put on psychiatric meds for what were medical conditions, drug-induced psychosis, or that the original factors that created the situation have changed. A person could have been misdiagnosed for these or other reasons that somehow were missed.

Quetiapine Seroquel Withdrawal Symptoms Timeline, Treatment

This video is of a former schizophrenic that went through our center. It was found that he was not a fixed diagnosis that instead, his issues were food allergies complicated by recreational drug use. He came off of the medications and became an international speaker helping others to understand the true components of mental health. This video was taken 10 years after his Alternative to Meds experience.

This article provides information on Seroquel withdrawal symptoms, quetiapine side effects, what it is prescribed for, and discusses treatment options, FAQs, and services provided by the Alternative to Meds Center. If you are looking for information regarding tapering Seroquel, please see our Seroquel tapering page. And, if you are looking for non-drug or natural alternatives to Seroquel, please see our Seroquel alternatives page.

While Seroquel has an impressive ability to quickly thwart a psychotic event, and may even be life-saving in certain cases, the long-term use efficacy remains questionable. Martin Harrow and colleagues recently published a study in the Feb 2021 edition of

Seroquel Weight Loss

Following patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective psychosis for 20 years. Their results showed that those suffering from a severe mental illness who stopped taking medication within the first two years were six times as likely to recover than those who continued the antipsychotics.

“Even when the confound by indication for prescribing antipsychotic medication is controlled for, participants with schizophrenia and affective psychosis do better than their medicated cohorts.” “These and previous data indicate that after 2 years, antipsychotics no longer reduce psychotic symptoms and participants not on antipsychotic perform better.” ~Harrow, Jobe & Tong, Journal of Psychological Medicine.12

The reason for the lack of long-term efficacy may be the way that the body adapts to the presence of the drug. According to 3 different independent researchers Chouinard, Fallon, Harrow, and respective colleagues, there may be an antipsychotic-induced sensitivity to the dopamine receptors, termed drug-induced supersensitivity psychosis, as they attempt to compensate.

How To Lose Weight And Stop Gaining Weight While Taking Seroquel

We are not suggesting that ALL people do better off of antipsychotics, and persons wishing to undergo Seroquel withdrawal at Alternative to Meds Center are screened for the probability of a successful outcome. The research does however present a strong case to support investigating safe alternatives to antipsychotics like Seroquel for long-term maintenance of symptoms.

Someone taking an antipsychotic may benefit from knowing more about Seroquel withdrawal, side effects, and other important information. Seroquel is typically prescribed at the time a person is in a mental health crisis. Too little attention may be given to understanding whether the crisis was a temporary situation. This can lead to unfortunate experiences by a person staying on a high dose of Seroquel or other medications for a very long time. A diagnosis may need to be adjusted, which may mean a change in the prescription. However, it is not always easy to find a physician who is well-versed in how to safely reduce Seroquel. Our doctors have much hands-on history with this population, which is often required to navigate this delicate terrain. Outside of our organization, a patient may need to inform their physician about methods of tapering medications such as strategies, timelines, and other points that their doctor may not have been aware of. We encourage you to share this information with your doctor for consideration.

PLEASE REMEMBER:Never abruptly stop Seroquel as the shock to the body could be overwhelming. Gentle, gradual, monitored tapering under the guidance of a trusted prescriber is safest.

Quetiapine For Primary Insomnia: Consider The Risks

Seroquel ( quetiapine ) is an atypical antipsychotic medication that is FDA approved for the treatment of schizophrenia and mixed bipolar episodes in adults. It can be prescribed for schizophrenia for children over the age of 12.

Bipolar may include either acute manic or depressive episodes. Extended-release Seroquel XR is used for the same reasons in adults but only used in adolescents demonstrating schizophrenia or the manic bipolar I disorder features — not depressive episodes.

Seroquel belongs to a relatively new family of drugs called atypical antipsychotic medications. When severe symptoms of either mania or depression occur, there may not be a lot of time to research available treatments that are offered. However, later there may come a time that a person may decide to go a different direction in treatment. This drug may have considerable side-effects including emotional dulling,

Bipolar Disorder Medication

Aside from the FDA-approved guidelines, there are several off-label uses for Seroquel which are being explored such as for insomnia, PTSD, OCD, substance abuse and addiction, delirium, anxiety, depression — especially in those who have stopped getting benefit from SSRIs — and personality disorders.

At present, these off-label uses are being cautiously examined due to a lack of established dosing parameters and their effects on metabolic side effects, extrapyramidal adverse effects, and potential safety concerns.

Based on 15 years of experience, we suggest that Seroquel withdrawal be done with us as an inpatient to help navigate the complexities that may occur. Stopping a prescription of Seroquel should rarely be done abruptly, but is best done under the careful monitoring of trained medical personnel who are familiar with safe Seroquel withdrawal and are aware of things to watch for that might require swift and precise medical intervention.

What Can Happen To You If You Stop Taking Seroquel?

There is one exception to the above where abrupt cessation should be done. In the rare case where certain life-threatening reactions to the drug need to be immediately brought under control, abruptly stopping the drug may be able to save the person’s life. One such condition is Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome.

Sometimes, people can develop tardive dyskinesia from Seroquel and you would want to work with your prescriber to discuss if rapid Seroquel cessation would be the proper option.

In all other cases, tapering off the drug should be gradual and attended with as much support as possible to help ease the person through to a successful outcome. It can be a difficult task that requires precise planning, strategy, and, hopefully, many compassionate and caring helpers.

Common Bipolar Disorder Medication Issues

It is widely held that Seroquel acts to block dopamine from binding at the D2 receptor and that this is in part how it manages manic symptoms.

This basically means that the dopamine receptors become more sensitive to the effect of dopamine. Since the drug was restricting dopamine, once you withdraw or reduce the Seroquel, you get more dopamine hitting these hyper volatile receptors. This is a recipe for a manic event. We have seen that over time, many people can reregulate and that the receptors can renormalize to a large degree. However, it takes the element of time and patience,